National City Posts Loss & Panhandles for $7 Billion

National City, #1 Ohio bank & #10 US bank,

is raising $7 billion by selling shares as it posted a Q1 net loss of $171 million and slashed its dividend from 23 cents to a penny.

The loss compared with a profit of $319 million. The provision for loan losses was $1.4 billion vs $691 million in Q4, vs $122 million in the Q107.

In the financing, National City will issue 126.2 million shares of common stock at $5 per share, which is about 40% below its $8.33 close on Friday.

National City CEO Peter Raskind: "Clearly, the U.S. housing and mortgage environment deteriorated significantly over the course of the first quarter."

The CEO said the bank needed to quickly stabilize its debt rating and quell market rumors of insolvency.

Stock down 84% in the last year and an additional 26% on the news.

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